“Not all. I did drag you here.”
“Not even close. I’m happy to be here, and to help make things easier for you, I’ll be your caffeine and doughnut dealer every morning.”
“You’re the best.”
“I know.” He grinned. “Do you mind if I go tonight?” His sweet tone combined with his puppy dog eyes made it impossible to say no. Not that she would anyway.
“Of course not. I want you to enjoy yourself.”
He bounced off the bed. “You’re the best, too. Love you.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m going to take a shower and then head out.”
At the sound of running water, Kennedy sat up to call Ava. “Hey,” she said to her sister.
“Hi! Did you get there safe and sound?”
“We did. How was your day?”
“Good. I finished my term paper so yay!”
“Congrats. So, there’s been a change in plans and Andrew and I are staying for the week.” She went on to explain the situation.
Ava laughed. “Yesterday you did an interview without wearing pants, and today you’re crashing a wedding. I’m a little worried about tomorrow.”
In all honesty, so was she. “I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, would you mind feeding Mrs. White’s fish? I told her I’d do it while she was visiting her grandson. Her key is on the hook in the kitchen. She said the food is next to the fishbowl and to drop in only two tiny flakes a day.”
“No problem.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Kennedy placed her phone on the nightstand, then walked to the single French door. The ground-level room, decorated in classic country blue and white, included antique furniture and plush rugs on the hardwood floor. She opened the door and stepped onto a private patio overlooking a garden. A woman in her early to mid-twenties with garden shears in her hands worked among the rose bushes.
“Hi!” the woman said.
“Hi.” Kennedy gave a short wave. The small gate to her left stood open, so she ventured out for a closer look at the garden. Rows and rows of flowers formed a circle around a large three-tiered fountain. She took a deep breath in through her nose, enjoying the floral scent.
“It’s beautiful here,” Kennedy said to the woman.
“Thank you. I’m Nova Owens. It’s nice to meet you.” She dropped her shears and slipped off her heavy-duty gardening glove for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, too.” Kennedy knew nothing about Maverick’s family, but this was obviously his sister, given the last name and startling blue eyes like her brother’s. It seemed weird to think she’d spent four years at college with the man, and the only personal information she knew about him was that he came from a ranch in a small town. Wait. She also knew he loved animals. While they were both premed, he’d had plans to go to veterinary school. Had he done that?
“Are you here for the wedding?”
“Y-Yes.” Get a grip. She was here for the wedding. Or at least the days leading up to the wedding.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay, and if there’s anything I can do, please let me know. The garden is my specialty, but I’m good for suggesting places to see, restaurants to check out, and getting you acquainted with the ranch and all its offerings.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
Nova slipped her glove back on and took a step back. She immediately teetered, then hissed as if in pain. Kennedy looked down. Nova had stepped on the gardening shears with her bare foot, the long, sharp tip of the tool poking through the top of her foot at an angle. Nova fell onto her bottom and pulled her foot free before Kennedy could give a warning to wait. She winced in sympathy for Nova and glanced down at her high heels, feeling a ghost of sharpness in her foot. Most puncture wounds to that part of the body didn’t cause much bleeding, but if an artery was nicked…
Blood spilled out of the gash as Nova wrapped her arms around herself. “Ow, ow, ow,” she cried in pain.
Kennedy dropped to her knees. “Can I help?” she asked. “If you were going to do this in front of anyone, you picked the right person. I’m a doctor.”
“Please,” she said through a wince. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t believe I did that. My mom is going to kill me. She’s always telling me to put shoes on and I never listen.”
“Can I have the bandanna in your hair?” Kennedy didn’t wait for an answer. She quickly slipped it free from Nova’s head. First things first; she had to stop the bleeding.
She tied the bandanna around Nova’s foot and applied pressure. “I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay.” Clearly it wasn’t, though, as Nova sucked in her bottom lip and the color drained from her face.
“If I can get the bleeding to stop, we’ll take a look at it. If not, we’re going to have to inspect it after we get you to the ER.”
“The closest ER is thirty minutes away, but Dr. Choi can help. His office is in town.”
“Okay, good.” Kennedy glanced at the shears. They were dirty, slightly rusted. Not good. “Have you had a tetanus shot in the last few years?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, though.” She brought up the knee on her injury-free leg and squeezed her arms around her shin.
“No worries. I’m sure Dr. Choi can give you one. Tell me about him.” In Kennedy’s experience, if she could keep a patient’s mind off their injury, the easier it was to treat them.
“He’s been the town’s doctor since before I was born. He does it all, and everyone loves him. He’s also going to yell at me for not wearing shoes so if it’s possible to keep that part between us, I’d be grateful.”
“I’ll do the best I can.”
“Everyone in town likes to be up in his business, too, so no doubt they’ll all know about my stupidity if we head to his office.”
“I wouldn’t call it stupidity, not at all. Accidents happen. Besides, I think this is partly my fault. I distracted you and you put the shears down. If I hadn’t done that, you’d still be pruning away.” Blood soaked through the bandanna, the wetness reaching Kennedy’s palm. The direct pressure seemed to be doing very little.
“Thanks,” Nova said softly.
“Unfortunately, the bleeding isn’t stopping, Nova. And with the brief glance I got, the wound looked deep. The shears aren’t clean, either, and that combination can lead to infection, so we need to get you to the doctor’s office where they’ve got the proper medical supplies. Think you can stand if I help?”